The time to pick the olives is approaching and, especially if it is done manually, you have to be careful. /
The College of Physiotherapists of La Rioja compiles some tips so that the kidneys of farmers and ranchers suffer a little less
Field work is hard, very hard. Farmers and ranchers know this. Many hours, great physical effort, loads, forced postures… The College of Physiotherapists knows this and this Friday launched a campaign with a series of tips to facilitate the work of workers in the primary sector and, above all, take care of their health and avoid injury.
But what can a farmer or rancher do to heal their aching kidneys or protect their joints? Well, the physiotherapists in La Rioja have understood this well. The first thing, like athletes, is warming up before starting work. Then, promote the rotation of activities, bet more on technical means, take breaks or avoid, as far as possible, carrying heavy weights.
The College of Physiotherapists of La Rioja has launched a series of recommendations and a video explaining what they can do to take care of themselves. What for the most steeped in tradition can be a waste of time, however, and according to this group of professionals, is a way to improve performance, take care of your health and, with this, avoid pain or the risk of sick leave.
Physiotherapists assure that “sometimes productivity comes before the concern for the physical health of workers, without thinking that this continuous overwork leads to sick leave, a reduced physical capacity to work in conditions and, ultimately, the incapacity of the worker if his injury is irrecoverable.”
Heater
Before starting the task, the recommendation is to perform “stretching and warm-up exercises, which will prepare the muscles, bones and joints for the work to be done. Just as we warm up before playing sports, we should warm up before doing physically demanding work. This will make it easier to avoid injuries, ”says the College press release. “In addition, activities related to agriculture and livestock require repetitive movements, with sustained and forced postures, as occurs, for example, when using pruning shears, in shakers of olives or during the harvest. These are almost robotic movements that can wear out the joints or generate overloads, which also happens if you spend many hours behind the wheel of a tractor, in this case,” he points out.
In this sense, physiotherapists in La Rioja recommend “periodic breaks during the working day, which allow the body to recover, paying attention to a healthy diet and hydration”. Varying the tasks during the day will also diversify “the areas of the body that are subject to greater tension, which will allow better recovery and avoid overloading certain muscle and joint groups”.
In addition, pulling more tractors and machines helps “to lighten the burden of heavy items on the part of the workers. Otherwise, the weight of the object to be lifted or transported should be checked beforehand, in order to be able to decide whether it will be carried out by one person or by several people”. And it will always be better to avoid heavy loads.
“Aware that the work of farmers and winners will always be demanding, regardless of the technical aids available, from the Official College of Physiotherapists of La Rioja, they recommend consulting a physiotherapist in case of doubt or if pain appears, so that you can schedule specific appointments recommendations for each and, ultimately, to carry out a program of preparation or physical recovery that allows him to continue to exercise his professional activity without putting his health in danger, ”concludes the note.
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